PennDOT fixing historic bridge at Pond Eddy

POND EDDY — A $120,000 repair job started Thursday on the historic Pond Eddy Bridge that connects Sullivan County in New York and Pike County in Pennsylvannia.

Beth Brelje

POND EDDY — A $120,000 repair job started Thursday on the historic Pond Eddy Bridge that connects Sullivan County in New York and Pike County in Pennsylvannia.

The bridge will be replaced in 2016 at an estimated cost of $13 million, but it needs 12 steel beam stringers replaced now.

The bridge will be closed from 8:30 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4:30 p.m. for about three weeks, PennDOT spokesman James May said.

The 21-foot-long stringers connect to floor beams under the deck of the bridge. After the installation, the bridge will maintain its current 7-ton weight limit. The work is being done by contractor Fahs Ralston.

The single-lane bridge, built in 1904, was made for horse-drawn carriages. It is the only access from the hamlet of Pond Eddy in the Sullivan County Town of Lumberland to some 20 homes on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River.

But for more than 15 years, the replacement project has been slowed by historic preservationists and activists concerned about aesthetics, environmental impacts and cost.

The Interstate Joint Bridge Commission, PennDOT and the New York State Department of Transportation are moving forward with the replacement project. The replacement plan is waiting for environmental clearance from the Federal Highway Administration.

The two states will split the estimated $13 million replacement cost. Both states expect contributions from the Federal Highway Administration to help fund the project.

PennDOT is willing to sell the old bridge. If no one buys it, the bridge, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, will be dismantled.